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Afghanistan
Dutch troops to quit Afghanistan in 2010
2007-12-20
The Netherlands announced Tuesday that Dutch troops would leave Afghanistan from July 2010, though it remained uncertain whether other nations would send enough soldiers to replace them.

“I do not have assurances that other countries will be ready to replace Netherlands troops, but I am certain that Dutch troops will leave in 2010,” Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told journalists. “I indicated that in writing ... to the NATO secretary general, who has confirmed it. The Netherlands government decided last month to prolong its Afghanistan deployment by two years to December 2010 and the parliament approved the measure late on Tuesday.

Dutch troops are stationed in the southern province of Uruzgan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Some 1,600 Dutch soldiers have been stationed in Uruzgan since July 2006. The mission, which was initially set to end after two years, is set to be reduced to between 1,100 and 1,200 soldiers in that region, with 250 troops in Kabul and Kandahar.
I suppose we'll have to replace them with our own. Perhaps from the troops we currently have in Y'urp.
Internal politics: “The power struggles involving interior politics will not have changed in three years ... so we will leave responsibility for the situation to NATO,” the minister said. The Netherlands had hoped to receive reinforcements from other NATO countries to allow it to further reduce the number of troops in its deployment. The country has lost 12 soldiers since deploying as part of the ISAF mission.
Posted by:Fred

#10  If the papers were on our side the headline would have read:

Dutch Troops To Stay in Afghanistan until 2010.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611   2007-12-20 20:45  

#9  And they are a small country: about 16 million people

hah?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2007-12-20 19:58  

#8  Specifically, the 1st AD is moving to Ft. Bliss and the 1st ID is moving to Ft Riley and Ft Knox, all by 2011.
Posted by: lotp   2007-12-20 13:51  

#7  And they are a small country: about 16 million people, size = 2 x New Jersey.

OP - The army just announced that 2 divisions currently in Germany are being rebased to the US over the next few years, with brigade combat teams replacing them. The drawdown / withdrawl is already under way.
Posted by: lotp   2007-12-20 13:48  

#6  Norway and the Dutch have been punching above their weight. I remind you of the "this didn't happen" training mission where the Dutch pilots flew and dropped a training munition (concrete blivet) on a dime to rescue some allies that were pinned, in spite of RoE that forbid them from engaging in "combat".
Posted by: OldSpook   2007-12-20 13:19  

#5  The Dutch have pulled their weight but they are still guilty for their weight being so small: ie gfor underfunding, undersizing their military who now can do little when needed.
Posted by: JFM   2007-12-20 12:31  

#4  The Dutch have done more than their share. The NATO "partners" I'm frustrated with are Belgium, Germany ("we'll deploy, but we won't fight"), Italy (their current "leadership" is worse than Harry Reid), Spain ("cut and run"), Portugal, Greece, and Norway. Great Britain has also contributed heavily, but their "new leadership" is another set of cowards. Canada has stepped up and proven to be a real partner, and their contribution is greatly appreciated. Iceland doesn't have anything to contribute to battles in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The new NATO countries - Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, et al., have contributed more than most of the "traditional" NATO countries. What I'm REALLY pissed about is most of NATO's attitude that they US is REQUIRED to protect them, at no cost to them.

The only "base" we ever had in the Netherlands was an ammo storage facility that was closed during the 1990's.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-12-20 11:55  

#3  And I really feel that the Dutch have pulled their weight. It's some of the other NATO countries that ought to step up.
Posted by: Rory B. Bellows   2007-12-20 09:02  

#2  Might want to keep Rota, too, so as to have airfields all along the Med. Gibraltar grows ever more croweded.
Posted by: Rory B. Bellows   2007-12-20 09:00  

#1  Leave one airfield (RAF Mildenhall?), RAF Molesworth, and the joint coordinating effort in London in England; Ramstein AB, Landstuhl Army barracks, and a mechanized brigade at Graffenwoehr; Aviano AB and Naples Naval Base in Italy, and a half-dozen installations (if possible) from the Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, and Bulgarians. Pull EVERYTHING ELSE out. Give NATO a five-year notice that they have to have equal forces (both in manpower and equipment) to deployable US forces, or we pull out of NATO. Watch the slippery brown stuff hit the air circulation device.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-12-20 00:42  

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